Homeless N.J. man is punished for honesty: Editorial

For those who like to rail about all the supposed waste, fraud and abuse in our safety net programs, here’s a story for you.

A homeless man found $850 on a sidewalk in Hackensack last April and turned it in to police, despite his own financial woes. He believed it was the right thing to do, because it might have belonged to someone even worse off than he was.

When no one claimed the money, police gave it back to the man, James Brady. Yet as a result of his Good Samaritan act, he now stands to lose his health insurance and a $210 monthly welfare stipend he depends on for non-food items, The Record reported.

Why? Because Brady didn’t realize he was required to report that $850, which he has so far spent on toilet paper, napkins, a bath mat and a sandwich, as income.

Rules are rules, the head of human services in Hackensack told the newspaper, and any lump sum technically counts as income. “I’m sorry, but we had to — I had to — follow regulations,” she said.

Brady, who needs a procedure for a tooth infection, says he is most worried about losing the psychiatric help he’s been getting for his depression. The former photographer and market data analyst ended up on the streets more than a decade ago after losing his job and becoming despondent. Now he’s finally getting his life back together, after finding housing and steady treatment.

He’s been hailed by the national media and the Hackensack city council for his honesty. He was determined to do the right thing. So why is he being treated like a Medicaid fraud?

Maybe instead of assuming that the needy who benefit from our government programs are undeserving, we should remember that good people are affected, too, and find a way to grant Brady an exception.